In the quiet early morning hours of November 28, 2020, a report of a car crash in a residential Gulfport neighborhood led to a grim discovery. Responding to the call on the 1700 block of Westward Drive around 5:12 a.m., police found a vehicle that had seemingly been in an accident. Inside, however, were the bodies of two men who had been shot to death.
The victims were identified as Charles E. Johnson Jr., a 34-year-old male from Gulfport, and Rashaud Fairley, 22, also of Gulfport.
The Harrison County Deputy Coroner pronounced both men dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. What was initially thought to be a tragic accident was now the scene of a double homicide investigation.
The Gulfport Police Department opened an investigation into the killings. Despite the passage of time, the case remains unsolved. Law enforcement has not publicly released information regarding any potential suspects or arrests in the shooting deaths of Johnson and Fairley. The case is listed as an open cold case with the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers, and authorities continue to ask for the public's help for any information that might lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.
